Jeff Bezos, the Washington Post’s future owner, says he is eager to try new things in search of an exciting future for the venerable but struggling daily.<\/p>\n
In his first interview with the Post since the $250 million dollar acquisition was announced in August, the Amazon founder said he has no magic formula for fixing what is wrong with the news industry or the Post.<\/p>\n
He said his approach will be similar to the one that turned Amazon from an online book store in 1995 to a retail titan.<\/p>\n
“We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient,” he said, in the interview published in Tuesday’s Post.<\/p>\n
Bezos, 49, added: “If you replace ‘customer’ with ‘reader,’ that approach, that point of view, can be successful at The Post too.”<\/p>\n
Bezos spoke from Seattle on Friday, four days before he was scheduled to visit The Post for the first time since the shocking announcement of the acquisition.<\/p>\n
He is buying the paper on his own, not as part of Amazon, from The Washington Post Co. and the controlling Graham family. The sale is expected to close in October.<\/p>\n
Bezos said his major input will be his “point of view” in discussions with the paper’s leadership about how the Post should evolve.<\/p>\n
He also said he provides “runway” – financial support over the long term so management can experiment with new things to turn a profit in delivering the news.<\/p>\n
“If we figure out a new golden era at The Post . . . that will be due to the ingenuity and inventiveness and experimentation of the team at The Post,” he said. “I’ll be there with advice from a distance. If we solve that problem, I won’t deserve credit for it.”<\/p>\n
The Post said Bezos will visit on Tuesday and Wednesday and meet with publisher Katharine Weymouth and top managers of the paper’s business and editorial operations.<\/p>\n
He will tour the newsroom in downtown Washington and the production plant in suburban Virginia.<\/p>\n
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